I've recently acquired a Hartblei 45mm F/3.5 Super Rotator. I'm wondering how that compares, in terms of performance, to Mamiya's 50mm Shift lens. If you've had experience with any of these lenses, please share your thoughts.

i use the 50mm shift on canon 1ds and 5d and its quite ok - as good as the 50mm flektogon or the 1.4/50mm canon. last week i used it on the mamiya zd and there I found it a bit soft. but more important: it doesn´t get softer even at full shift and it has nearly no visible distortion (at least I haven´t noticed any).hope that helps.how do you like the hartblei?

hi BobI have the mamiya 50. I am very happy with it. I find you have to focus 1st and then shift. did a big interior showroom last week and found that I prefered using the 50 to the 35mm. nice to get up on a ladder and then shift down to keep vericals straight. shot most at f16 and f22. sharpness ok. Because shots were for billboards I used silkypix to open raw files then focal blade on light sharpening. what i do is I use the sharpening tool to selectively sharpen small details etc like flowers, stitching etc. Overall look is very sharp without the oversharpened look. wish the lens had tilt but all my shots on this particular shoot was sharp front to back. focus was sort of in the middle. I did extra shots with focus more to the front and rear but middle focus was ok. didnt have time to view all the shots in detail on the laptop. Too slow anyway with ZD's huge files. 50m is also nice for interiors as it hasnt got this ultrawide look. Stopped down to f16/22 viewfinder is very dark(on ZD). Lens is very well build and I wish the other mamiya AF lenses I have was as well build. Using the shifts to build a panoramic shot: On my initial test I did get a shift in colour towards the extreme side of the shifts. whether its the lens or the camera I cant say. will have to do more test to see if I would use it commercially. would be ok in B&W for landscapes etc though. You also have more shift with digital because of the smaller chip size. The hartblei seems to be a fantastic lens though and our hosts review on it was very positive. will be on my shopping list for the future! Thanks Ivan

last week i used it on the mamiya zd and there I found it a bit soft. but more important: it doesn´t get softer even at full shift and it has nearly no visible distortion (at least I haven´t noticed any).

hi stefanOn a A3 print image from the 50shift and ZD looked supersharp. Admittedly with some selective sharpening in photoshop. Lens is fast becomming my favourite when using a tripod!BTW how do you find the ZD?Thanks Ivan

BTW how do you find the ZD?Thanks Ivan[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=91868\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/quote]

hi ivan,

that was only a test in the camera-shop. i have two big jobs coming up, where i thought that my normal 5d plus the zörk and the pentax, schneider, mamiya, and zeiss jena lenses weren´t enough. I took to days looking at the zd files on the monitor and was at first quite disapointed. I expected to go WHOW. I only testet the zd on exposures from 1 to 10 seconds, becouse that what i usualy use (interiors). color (shop-fluorecent) didnt´t seem good. the sharpness was worse than with the 5d/pentax combo. it took me a while to work out how to work the file and that they need extra sharpening. (i thought it was only the canons with their aa-filter, that needed strong usm.) now i get a sharper file - but not much better than with the 5d+pentax 35mm. the new pentax -lens clearly resolves more detail than the mamiya lens. it just shows the importance of the lens- again.

my biggest concern is that - coming from the zörk-system with about 10 perfect shiftlenses from 35 to 150mm -with the zd i only have the 50mm shift. a bit limiting. but I might get the zd anyway and keep using the 5d too. I said goodby to the idea that there is a one-camera-solution.

ivan - did you notice any distortion on the mamiya shift-lens?and: how does the zd behave under tungsten light?

bob- you find the lens on ebay for not much money - and it´s a manuel lens but you can use them on the af-cameras to (without the autofucus - but with focus-confirmation - wich i find absolutely great!!! (coming from canon)

by the way: what nearly kocked me over (and made me wanting to get that zd) is the ability to retain highlight. you know how (at least with canon) you always get those burned patches on a shiny floor, from reflections from the windows and strong lamps - i didn´t see any of that with the zd - absolutely great - worth more to me than the tiny bit in more resolution.

I took to days looking at the zd files on the monitor and was at first quite disapointed. I expected to go WHOW. I only testet the zd on exposures from 1 to 10 seconds, becouse that what i usualy use (interiors). color (shop-fluorecent) didnt´t seem good. the sharpness was worse than with the 5d/pentax combo. it took me a while to work out how to work the file and that they need extra sharpening. (i thought it was only the canons with their aa-filter, that needed strong usm.) now i get a sharper file - but not much better than with the 5d+pentax 35mm. the new pentax -lens clearly resolves more detail than the mamiya lens. it just shows the importance of the lens- again.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=91871\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I would advice to try out Raw Developper if you feel that the ZD files are not sharp enough.

I does offer a lot more control on that that other RAW converters, although at the cost of slightly more noise in the images (mostly not visible in print).

When trying to get too much sharpness for small details, there is a risk of getting artificial looking diagonals (staircase effect), but it is possible by doing a double conversion to get the best of both worlds.

My D2x is sharp, but the ZD is even sharper when converted properlly. I would say that it corresponds to probably 25-26 MP compared to AA filter DSLRs.

I'm using the Hartblei Super Rotator on my M645 AFD with an Imacon 384C back. The back produces beautiful files, especially in 4-shot mode. The one disadvantage is that the sensor is 37mm X 37mm. I like the square for still lifes but it severly limits wide agle capabilities for architecture.

The Hartblei is a highly flexible lens, although it's a bit combersome to use. I find that it's not as sharp as the Mamiya 35mm. I guess my biggest question is whether the Harblei is as sharp as the Mamiya 50mm shift.

I guess my biggest question is whether the Harblei is as sharp as the Mamiya 50mm shift.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=91930\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/quote]

hi bob,

is it the manual focus or the af 35mm you have?i used to use the manual version and can compare it to that only- dont know if the af version is better than the old one. the 35mm (which i used as a shift-lens on canons) is quite sharp in the middle but gets soft at the very edges plus it shows quite a bit ca. the shiftlens is the same as the 35mm in the center - but stays sharp even in the corners. and there is not that much ca. the 35mm has some even distortion, that is easy to correct.i would guess, the mamiya shift is quite a bit better than the hartblei (but then it doesn´t tilt). both are not very wide for architecture - but ok for interior.

something i am going to investigate is, using the pentax 76 lenses (45mm!) with a zörk shift adapter on the mamiya. but i am a bit concerned about the sharpness of those old lenses. they are probaply not up to the pentax 645 af quality. has anybody got experience with pentax 67 lenses on a digiback?

I would advice to try out Raw Developper if you feel that the ZD files are not sharp enough.

hi bernard,

if I would have a mac, I would have tried out RD - heard/read good thinks about it before. I might by a mac just to get a better software. dont like the mamiya or the silkypix software.

i saw your landscape pic - and that made me try out the zd and when i looked at my files i kept going back and for to your pic wondering where the sharpness in my file went. i very much liked the little bit of noise in the pic - just like filmgrain wich i always ad to my overly smooth canon files anyway - so that would save me one step in my workflow ;-).

was that landscape pic converted with RD?and was that the af 35mm lens?

ivan - did you notice any distortion on the mamiya shift-lens?and: how does the zd behave under tungsten light?

hitundsten lights : no problems. I set it on tungsten balance and include a gray card somewhere in photo. I use silkypix and graycard to neutralize colours further. works fine for me. Very little distortion, nothing I cant fix in photoshop. Far less distortion than the 35mm AF. Also sharper imo.

I also tested a 5d in a camera shop and was not impressed at all. with same tests in shop with the ZD i was bowled over, compared to my 20d (and 5d tests) Decided to change 5d purchase in favour of ZD. so far I have no regrets. Maybe camera shops are not the ideal place to test cameras?

was that landscape pic converted with RD?and was that the af 35mm lens?[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=92030\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hi Stefan,

If you speak about the snow view with 4 guys climbing up, then no, it was shot with the 300 mm f4.5.

The image was indeed converted with RD.

A note of caution on the ZD in landscapce applications, the battery life in cold weather is extremely short on a battery charge (15 - 30 images at -10C)... to the extend that I now consider the camera to be close to unusable in suz zero weather.

I is a major disapointement for me. I'll write on this in the coming days.

hi BernardMay I ask what tripod you use? I have an old 300f5.6 manual focus mamiya lens for my zd and I find on my lightweight magfiber manfrotto 055 with 029 head that below 1/125 sec, with mirror lift that I do get vibrations from the shutter. I have heavier tripods but they are too heavy for field work.thanks Ivan

hi BernardMay I ask what tripod you use? I have an old 300f5.6 manual focus mamiya lens for my zd and I find on my lightweight magfiber manfrotto 055 with 029 head that below 1/125 sec, with mirror lift that I do get vibrations from the shutter. I have heavier tripods but they are too heavy for field work.thanks Ivan[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=92315\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Just ordered a 45mm Harblei super rotator for my Mamiya ZD. Will report back when I have used it a bit. I recall a quite favourable review from Michael some while back when used with a Kodak Pro back, I believe. Its priced in $$, and with the weak dollar / strong GB Pound, its extra good value.

Quentin

« Last Edit: December 27, 2006, 05:05:08 AM by Quentin »

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Quentin Bargate, ARPS, Author, photographer entrepreneur and senior partner of Bargate Murray, Law Firm of the Year 2013

I have possible photography assignment for 4 or 5 architectural projects from a recent contacted (friend of a friend) architect here in NY, so I'm getting ready.

I have the 645 AFD, 80mm, 45mm and 150mm AF and the PhaseOne P25 (22MP) back.

I have read the presiding posts and will try to cover first the practical solutions with that involve -figuratively- lesser moving parts.

First on my agenda is to buy the "Mamiya Super Wide Angle 35mm f/3.5 Autofocus Lens for 645AF" This is a AF all auto non-tilt shift lens that will be always on my pelican case.

Following options are to consider using PS for virtual shifting. Advantage would be to be able to shoot faster and concentrate more on lighting, angles etc.

Next would be to test or find report on test of the 45mm Harblei super rotator.

Also Mamiya has announced the 28mm (is it 28mm?)

The advantage of shift lens on top of the AFD645 as opposed to an Alpa/Horsman + Schenaider digitar class of solution is --theoreticaly- in two aspects: First the idea of dismounting and mounting the PhaseOne on the field for focusing sounds like stress elevating procedure to me --and the flex thing too expensive and cumbersome--. Second: retro focus optics may be better for projection of image circle in to the sensel wells than the non retro focus optics.

This last point is very seldom discussed in regard to wide angle/ts optics, so I don't even know if I have even created it in my head. What do you think?